Below are the common question words in French which you must know:
Qui = who Quoi = what Quand = when Où = where Pourquoi = why Comment = how Combien = how many
Les types de questions
There are different ways to ask a question in French. The two most common methods are 1) adding 'est-ce que' in front of any sentence, and 2) inversion, where you change the order of the verb and the subject and insert a hyphen between them.
1. Est-ce que eg. Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ce soir? (Are you going to the movies tonight?) eg. Où est-ce qu’il est né? (Where was he born?) Notice in the second example that the question word goes in front of 'est-ce que' if you are using one.
2. Inversion eg. Vas-tu au cinéma ce soir? (Are you going to the movies tonight?) eg. Où est-il né? (Where was he born?) Notice that even though they look different, the two examples here have the same translations as the two examples above.
One additional point to remember with inversion questions is that you must insert the letter 't' in between the verb and the subject if the verb ends in a vowel and the subject begins with one.
eg. Aime-t-il le chocolat? (Does he like chocolate?) eg. Où achète-t-elle ses jupes? (Where does she buy her skirts?)
Les réponses aux questions Answering questions in French is no different than answering questions in English. The subjects usually change, which then causes the verb endings to change.
1. Tu --> Je, Vous --> Nous (You becomes I, You (plural) becomes We) eg. Est-ce que tuvas au cinéma ce soir? Oui, jevais au cinéma ce soir. Are you going to the movies tonight? Yes, I'm going to the movies tonight. eg. Êtes-vous prêts? Oui, noussommes prêts. Are you ready? Yes, we are ready.
2. ton, ta, tes --> mon, ma, mes / votre, vos --> notre, nos (Your/yours becomes My, Your/Yours (plural) becomes Our/ours) eg. Où estton livre? Mon livre est dans mon casier.
Where is your book? My book is in my locker. eg. Qui sontvos parents? Ils sontnos parents. Who are your parents? They are our parents.
3. Il, Elle, On, Qui, Ils, Elles, son, sa, ses, leur, leurs ne changent pas (He, she, one, who, they, his, her, their, theirs do not change from question to answer). eg. Où est-il né? Il est né à Montréal.
Where was he born? He was born in Montréal. Eg. Où sont ses amis? Ses amis sont à la bibliothèque. Where are his friends? His friends are at the library.
Question Words
Below are the common question words in French which you must know:
Qui = who
Quoi = what
Quand = when
Où = where
Pourquoi = why
Comment = how
Combien = how many
Les types de questions
There are different ways to ask a question in French. The two most common methods are 1) adding 'est-ce que' in front of any sentence, and 2) inversion, where you change the order of the verb and the subject and insert a hyphen between them.
1. Est-ce que
eg. Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ce soir? (Are you going to the movies tonight?)
eg. Où est-ce qu’il est né? (Where was he born?)
Notice in the second example that the question word goes in front of 'est-ce que' if you are using one.
2. Inversion
eg. Vas-tu au cinéma ce soir? (Are you going to the movies tonight?)
eg. Où est-il né? (Where was he born?)
Notice that even though they look different, the two examples here have the same translations as the two examples above.
One additional point to remember with inversion questions is that you must insert the letter 't' in between the verb and the subject if the verb ends in a vowel and the subject begins with one.
eg. Aime-t-il le chocolat? (Does he like chocolate?)
eg. Où achète-t-elle ses jupes? (Where does she buy her skirts?)
Les réponses aux questions
Answering questions in French is no different than answering questions in English. The subjects usually change, which then causes the verb endings to change.
1. Tu --> Je, Vous --> Nous (You becomes I, You (plural) becomes We)
eg. Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ce soir? Oui, je vais au cinéma ce soir.
Are you going to the movies tonight? Yes, I'm going to the movies tonight.
eg. Êtes-vous prêts? Oui, nous sommes prêts.
Are you ready? Yes, we are ready.
2. ton, ta, tes --> mon, ma, mes / votre, vos --> notre, nos (Your/yours becomes My, Your/Yours (plural) becomes Our/ours)
eg. Où est ton livre? Mon livre est dans mon casier.
Where is your book? My book is in my locker.
eg. Qui sont vos parents? Ils sont nos parents.
Who are your parents? They are our parents.
3. Il, Elle, On, Qui, Ils, Elles, son, sa, ses, leur, leurs ne changent pas (He, she, one, who, they, his, her, their, theirs do not change from question to answer).
eg. Où est-il né? Il est né à Montréal.
Where was he born? He was born in Montréal.
Eg. Où sont ses amis? Ses amis sont à la bibliothèque.
Where are his friends? His friends are at the library.